I can’t root my phone because I don’t have an image for it (Moto G73) although I’d like to, but for some reason my banking app thinks it’s rooted and refuses to work. This happened just after I updated it, it wasn’t happening before.
Edit: I’m regretting not getting the Motorola Edge 40 Neo, which also costs £250, but is slightly better in multiple ways, and seems like it has better root support.
Just FYI, rootkit malware does exist for phones
What is that and how does it relate to my issue?
Spyware that roots your phone.
Is your system software fully updated?
Are you running a Beta version of the system software?
It’s the latest stable version, it updated a couple of days ago.
Did you enable developer mode and their message is stupid?
More and more every day, I wish the Firefox Phone had survived.
Firefox had a phone? I wish Firefox would try again.
They did. It was a project initially called “Boot to Gecko,” about a decade ago; and the idea was to make a Linux kernel OS so lightweight that you were running web apps as close to bare metal as possible. There were intended to be no binary apps, only web apps running on open standards; though that didn’t necessarily carry through as originally intended.
I agree. I think it was before its time and would be a real boon today.
I can’t remember much about it but I seem to remember that the actual hardware itself was very entry level which was part of the problem. It really would have done better to appeal to enthusiasts.
I get that it was marketed at third world countries, but I still think they would have done better had they had a western version with more up-to-date specs as well, if only to get the kind of market share that would encourage app developers.
Yeah, I read a retrospective written by one of the developers, and it sounds like they had the trouble that they could only get development partners for low-end devices (which kind of meant that they had to target developing countries) but they couldn’t get companies like WhatsApp to make web apps that would run on Firefox OS (which meant that it was kind of a non-starter in those developing countries).
Couple that with some questionable priority decisions at the top of the project, and a major reshuffling of Mozilla’s organizational aims near the end of the project, and it all just sort of fell apart. I do kind of wonder if it would have done better today, or maybe as a tablet or a Roku competitor.
Adjacent topic… Do you use a credit union? Because fuuuuuuck banks.
For the unaware, here’s a concise explanation of the difference from chatgpt:
Banks and credit unions both offer financial services, but there are key differences. Banks are for-profit institutions, owned by shareholders, while credit unions are nonprofit, owned by their members. Credit unions often offer higher interest rates on savings and lower loan rates, but banks typically have a broader range of services and more extensive ATM networks. Your choice may depend on priorities like fees, customer service, and community focus.
But Android is open source! Oh, until you actually do any fucking thing with it. Be gone, Google.
Online banking has always been a disaster.
I remember when I got a new phone and I could not figure out how I was supposed to get the banking app on my phone so I called the bank and they said oh you just have to remove the app from your old phone.
Weird but ok.
Thing is, what if I don’t have the old phone what am I supposed to do then banking app people? The rep really couldn’t get her head around the idea that the phone was in at the bottom of a lake.
Then I had to go through this carry-on where I had to send in all sorts of bits of info and then the video of me waving just so they let me install the app again. And that’s on top of all of the other security the banking app already has.
Then I had to go through this carry-on where I had to send in all sorts of bits of info and then the video of me waving just so they let me install the app again.
That sounds good. Otherwise anyone could steal your bank account by saying “I lost my phone.”
They would still need my password to sign in so really they’re just adding unnecessary layers of complication but they’re not actually adding any security since anyone who can know my password can fake all the other stuff as well.
maybe a stupid question: But doesn’t android sandbox every app? If every app is running in a sandbox, it shouldn’t be too hard to pretend your phone isn’t rooted.
If they check for a specific version number, like @RagingRobot mentioned, it also shouldn’t be a problem. Just set that specific sandbox to return whatever version you want.
I am aware that ‘just configure the sandbox’ is not really an accessible solution. But a sandbox-config-master would be a great app for rooted phones.
Well apparently rooted phones can pretend to apps they’re not rooted. Problem is, my phone isn’t actually rooted.
Turn developer options off.
Do it, my local government app at least had the decency to explain it was the developer mode being on and not root.
Would not recommend rooting anymore, as many apps that have a financial/banking/CC aspect will stop working. Like this one. Rooting used to serve great purposes & had no drawbacks; now there aren’t many perks and many punishments. Even your Snapchat will refuse to work, probably because “you can use Snapchat to send & receive money”. No one does, but that doesn’t matter.
That sucks & I’m sorry. This (probably) wouldn’t have helped with a banking app, which forces you to update frequently, but I do not update apps unless: they are buggy, there’s an update I’d really like, or I am forced. Not all updates are good.